The Pentagon announced on Friday that four 25th Infantry Division soldiers, missing in action in North Korea fighting nearly 59 years ago, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

The remains were recovered in 2000.

Five years later, on May 25, 2005, the Defense Department halted all U.S. Korean War MIA recovery operations in the North, citing concerns about the safety of U.S. personnel because of increased U.S.-North Korea tensions.

Outside communications were limited, and the North's refusal to negotiate over nuclear program tests left the Pentagon uneasy about having its U.S. team members in the country.

With North Korea's latest missile launch activity, it seems unlikely — at least for the moment — that such teams will be back anytime soon.

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, based at Hickam Air Force Base, which investigates, recovers and identifies missing Americans from past wars, conducted recovery operations in North Korea between 1996 and 2005.

According to JPAC, as it's known, those missions resulted in the return of more than 220 remains. Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea unilaterally turned over what it said were 208 sets of remains.

The number of U.S. service members missing from the Korean War remains large. Approximately 8,100 are still unaccounted for. Of that total, about 5,100 are in North Korea, according to the military.

The majority of JPAC's missions in North Korea were to Unsan and Kujang counties.

The four soldiers from the Schofield Barracks-based "Tropic Lightning" division who were recently identified were recovered in 2000 by a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team.

They are Cpl. Samuel C. Harris Jr., of Rogersville, Tenn.; Cpl. Lloyd D. Stidham, of Beattyville, Ky.; Cpl. Robert G. Schoening, of Blaine, Wash.; and one serviceman whose name is being withheld pending a briefing to his family.

The soldiers were assigned to Company C of the 65th Combat Engineer Battalion. On Nov. 25, 1950, Company C came under intense enemy attack when it was occupying a position near Hill 222, south of the Kuryong River. The men were reported missing in action on Nov. 27.

Harris will be buried April 10 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.; Stidham will be buried April 13 in Nicholasville, Ky.; and Schoening will be buried June 19 in Arlington.

One soldier who was also recovered with the group, 1st Lt. Dixie Parker, was previously identified and buried in December 2007 in Arlington.

The U.S. paid the "Hermit Kingdom" millions for the right to conduct the recovery operations up to 2005.

"When conditions are deemed suitable, we will open discussions with (North Korea) ... regarding a restart of recovery operations," JPAC said on its Web site.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.